Remaking the Giant Spider

Giant Spiders? Why? From Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, and back again, there have been Giant Spiders in our fantasy readings. We all have killed spiders, some of us have killed Giant Spiders. I consider them to be an under-used classic. So… let’s add some spice.

We are going to compile a scroll of add-ons/features for Giant Spiders and other, usually boring, Giant Fantasy Creatures. Some will be bizarre, some mundane, some… within the reason limitations of reality. Others, not so much. But, now, I present you with the first batch of "mutations" as I will call them.

Examples: Lethal Injection - The spider has a stinger that can inject and acid capable of liquefying a human from the inside out. Used on victims encased in silk webbing it makes for a nice treat, like yogurt in a tube. But the tube is silk… and the yogurt.. liquefied human remains.. yum.

Over 400 Babies! - Many, many, many younglings scampering about. In you hair, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. They can be stomped… but will they ever stop?

Natural/Unnatural Flight - Maybe they have wings? Maybe they can fly without wings… Levitation, or…

Mm.. Thats Good Eatin’ - It’s entirely possible that Giant Spiders taste delicious! Maybe they have been hunted to near extinction?

Final Notes Add your own! And when using these, feel free to mix and match. Also: If you have an idea for something other than a Giant Spider put it up anyway!

Additional Ideas (8)

Sharp webbing that cuts those who run into it instead of trapping them.
Spiders that speak
Webbing that looks like treasure
No one giant spider, but a whole swarm of them with deadly bites
Intelligent spiders with their own kingdom

Phase Spider have the ability to (In D&D) shift to the ethereal plane to escape from or ambush foes, and (in Everquest) turn invisible and have a percentage chance to send you to a random location when they hit you (thats a little powerful for a tabletop game though).

Aranea from the 3.5 D&D Monster Manual can shapeshift between a human form (usually an old lady), a hybrid form, and a spider form. They can also cast spells as a low level sorceror.

Acidic/Poisonous Blood-
The Spider's blood could spray forth when it recives a wound and melt someone's gear, or poison them. Maybe make it a hallucinagen.

Slippery Webs -
Maybe its webbing is very slick and slippery, could be used to grease up a chute if the spider was smart enough.

Immunity to certain types of Damage -
Be it Fire or Cold, or even Bludgeoning or Slashing. Possibly Acid, Sound, or any other Elemental/Physical immunity.

Urticating Hair (Suggested by my good friend Rosemary Bats) -
This is Real! Many tarantula species will frequently kick hairs off their abdomens, directing them toward potential attackers. These hairs can embed themselves in the other animal's skin or eyes, thus inducing physical irritation. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urticating_hair

The bites are not poisonous, but they itch like crazy and are often scratched open bringing a risk of disease.
Bites that acutally heal certain diseases.
Bites that cause short term numbness, making weapons very hard to hold.
Were-spiders-any human bitten by one and not killed becomes a giant spider for a certain time every full moon.

Or you could go the opposite route, and instead of piling on incongruous details to dilute the formula, you could invest in some serious description to evoke the true horror of a gigantic arachnid- the thin spiny black hairs that coat its spindly legs, the foul ichor dripping from its multiple alien fangs. Make the spiders a truly threatening monster, and make them hard to kill, rather than giving in to the videogame instinct of making them Red Shirts to throw at the heroes to keep the action going.

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I like big spiders in games. Why? They are creepy, they give my the willies, and frankly when running at my house, freaks my wife out just talking about them. She hates spiders, even dead ones. Ive got a big spider somewhere Ill link ot add to this. As Moon said, the basic meat and potatoes is lacking but it has plenty of potential to fill out.

Freetext

Not strictly animal or vegetable, the Corpse bud is a peculiar individual that shares characteristics from multiple kingdoms and species. In appearance, all corpse buds bear a shape of a large rounded top bud divided into four lateral segments, and a much longer, narrower bottom bud, also divided into four segments. Between the two halves are a set of four radial limbs, rounded on top and flat on the bottom, covered with tiny serrated hooks facing towards the body. In overall size, it’s limbs reach as wide as a spread hand, with the body being as thick as a fist. It is as long as a human hand from top to bottom.

Internally, the top bud of the corpse bud contains a bacteria filled membrane that produces the hydrogen that the corpse bud uses to stay aloft, and a series of fungal gills for the dispersal of spores for reproduction. The lower half of the bud contains a number of fine filaments, as well as a sharp barbed stinger containing a powerful local anaesthesia.

The Corpse Bud mobilizes by inflating its top bud, and steers by rotating its arms rapidly about its body. The corpse bud ordinarily drifts with the wind, orienting towards the scent of recent decay and death. It preys on the recently dead, burrowing the lower bud into the victim, using the anaesthesia in case the victim is dying, and not truly deceased. Once embedded, it releases its filaments into the body, replacing the current nervous system. This gives it full animation of the body, and allows the corpse bud to direct it.

Corpse buds are not a malevolent species, being primarily concerned with breaking down the host body for food, and infecting the reproductive cycle with spores in order to mate with other corpse-bud bodies. To preserve the corpse for this purpose, Corpse buds will seek out dry locations to prevent bacteria from destroying the corpses. This often causes a large number of corpse buds to gather in a single location.

In culture, Corpse buds are used to repair broken spines or degenerative diseases, as the sentient mind will easily overcome the mind of the non-sentient corpse bud. Once infected by a corpse bud, however, removal is usually fatal, and the infected individual cannot reproduce, or risk infecting another. Thus, it is a technique often reserved for the elderly, or a last resort.

Necromancers and other dark sorcerers will often preserve the corpses of their victims magically, and infect them with corpse buds, creating traditional undead as well, so as to seed their lairs with undead both offensive and non, in order to throw their enemies off balance. They will also enslave the rudimentary minds of the corpse buds, and transform the docile things into a plague. There have also been accounts of magically transformed corpse buds with stronger minds and a taste for living flesh, but thus far all accounts are unproven rumors.